Alibaba Cloud has lately released more than 100 open-source large language models (LLMs) under its Qwen 2.5 series and this marks a significant step in the AI ambitions of the tech giant. Is it a game-changer for global AI development or is it just another high-profile tech play?
The announcement was made at the annual Apsara Conference of Alibaba and it was impressive. The Qwen 2.5 models range in sizes from 0.5 to 72 billion parameters and support 29 languages. Alibaba touts the massive downloads of Qwen models. However, the real-world adoption will determine their true impact.
Alibaba Cloud Intelligence CEO and Chairman Eddie Wu said that the company is intensively investing in AI research to build the infrastructure of the future. However, grand statements often mask a larger reality. Smaller players may still find themselves navigating the complexities of AI implementation without the necessary infrastructure or expertise.
The addition of multimodal AI tools like text-to-video generation and the upgraded Qwen2-VL model certainly adds excitement. It is yet to understand whether they can truly transform industries or they are just novel features for few to use at scale. The AI Developer assistant of Alibaba promises to automate coding tasks. It is worth asking how many developers will actually use the technology to its full potential.
Alibaba has also made bold infrastructure upgrades with CUBE DC 5.0, Open Lake and the PAI AI Scheduler. The innovations aim to solve the issues of AI computing power. However, this too feels like a play for larger businesses.
In the words of Jingren Zhou, CTO of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, “This initiative empowers developers and businesses of all sizes.” But the truth is, unless there’s broader accessibility, much of the AI revolution may remain confined to big players.
Alibaba’s ambitious AI move has potential, but whether it reshapes industries or simply adds to the noise in the AI arms race remains to be seen. For now, it feels like the real winners are still on the corporate side of the fence.
